I am reminded of the movie A Christmas Story when looking at the chances of Boise State being involved in this season’s BCS Championship. You know the story: Ralphie wants a Red Ryder carbine-action 200-shot range model air rifle for Christmas, but everyone says, “no, you’ll shoot your eye out kid.”
Now this isn’t a post about a movie from the past, but rather A Boise State Story. As I watched an ESPN commercial today at lunch promoting this Saturday’s Michigan State vs. Penn State game, my mind began to play out a scenario in which the Boise State Broncos could face the Alabama Crimson Tide in the National Championship.
Here is my one in a million scenario that would have Boise State hurdling seven spots, going from No. 9 to No. 2 in the BCS.
Mountain West/Western Athletic
The absolute in the scenario is the Utah Utes would need to lose to BYU this Saturday, and of course the Broncos would have to win out. If these things fail to happen, then goodbye BCS Championship hopes. A loss by Utah, and Boise State overcomes its first hurdle.
- B/R Ticket Guide
Big East/ACC
Simply put, there is not enough time for these conferences to move close enough to the top 10, let alone number one or two in the BCS. The remaining games played by these teams are insignificant in deciding a National Champion. No hurdles to jump here—just putting all my ducks in a row.
Big Ten
With a win by Michigan State over Penn State, Boise State hurdles yet another team. Ohio State winning the Big Ten, though important, may not be enough to pass an undefeated Boise State. Also, OSU needs to get by Michigan.
Pac-10
Oregon State has two games left, and I think it is a toss-up for them to win both games or lose both. Regardless of that outcome, Oregon State has even less of a chance to pass BSU and jump to No. 2 than BSU has of becoming No. 2. USC would need to drop either the Notre Dame or UCLA game. Resulting losses by Oregon State and USC could allow another hurdle.
SEC
In Alabama vs. Florida for the SEC Championship, Alabama would need to come out on top, giving Florida its second loss. I think a big win by Alabama would be needed, as a one to three-point loss would do little to decrease Florida’s ranking. These are the fourth and third most difficult hurdles for Boise State.
Big 12
This could prove to be the Broncos' downfall. The way this needs to play out is for Texas Tech to beat Oklahoma this week and win out. An Oklahoma loss allows for BSU to hurdle its fifth team. Texas Tech would need to win out and lose in the Big 12 Title game to a Missouri Tiger team. Hurdle number six.
That leaves the last hurdle, which would require a Texas Longhorns loss to Texas A&M and becomes the seventh and final hurdle that lands Boise State at number two in the BCS, taking on the Alabama Crimson Tide in the national championship game.
To be realistic, the odds of all of these things panning out for Boise State are an extreme long shot—not to mention the human pollsters may not vote Boise State anywhere close enough to No. 2 to make it a reality.
However, I like to dream as Ralphie did, because after all, Ralphie beat up the bully (BCS) and got the BB gun in the end (Championship). Now wasn’t that fun?
Go Broncos!
comments (3) write a comment »
write a new comment
about 1 month ago
One in a million? Maybe one in 40 million chance! Let's face it, as good as Boise State's program has been over the past 8 years, they will NEVER be in a national title game. Period. NEVER. Why? They don't play anybody! Sure, they beat Oregon this year -- and that' a big win, especially coming in Eugene -- but other than Oregon there is nobody on the schedule. They don't play enough of the 'big boys' to ever get to a one or two ranking! And...........when they do, it's generally not a good outcome. Sure, they beat Oklahoma in what was probably the best college football game I've ever seen but my mind takes me back to the other BCS teams they've played in recent years. Remember Georgia? How about the Washington Huskies? Yes -- the hapless and horrible U-Dub! Enough said?
Why not take on a schedule like Fresno State does? Why not take the Pat Hill attitude of "we'll play anybody, anywhere on any day? Instead of playing the milk toast schedule they presently seem to be obsessed with? The AD likes wins and so do the fans. But if BSU ever wants to be considered amoung the elite programs in the country they've got to start playing a BCS team more than once a year.
from about 1 month ago
Your right, Boise State needs another "Big Boy" during the season. However, please never ever compare what Boise State does to Fresno State. Yes they take on a tougher schedule, but fail to win the WAC games. They dropped to Hawai'i and La Tech this year, and if it wasn't for a last minute 50 plus yard field goal they would have lost to Utah State. Also this post was mearly one man's pipe dream. It was meant for fun as any Bronco Fan knows BSU has a way to go before the chants for National Champ come to mind.
from about 1 month ago
Even when you schedule a BCS team (which you have to do years in advance), they can often turn into average or horrible teams. Just look at BYU's schedule this year. They put Washington and UCLA on the schedule. Normally that would be considered decent, but in reality the best competition came from their own conference.
Let's look at the mighty BCS teams this season. The Pac 10 had a cumulative losing record against the Mountain West Conference. Then you have the Big East and ACC who can barely get teams into the Top 25. Even the SEC is down this year, with only Alabama, Florida and Georgia worthy of the normal accolades the SEC receives each season.
So your BCS argument is weak this season. Let's be honest D...could Boise beat Oregon State at home...I think the answer is yes! Could Boise beat USC at home? The answer is yes...Oregon State beat them. So if USC is pretty much a shoe in for a BCS game, then why in the heck wouldn't Boise even get a sniff!
The answer my friend is that BCS bias is still live and well in College football.
write a new comment